I still don't know how I feel about this one, but my feelings are not your concern. (You're not my therapist right? Then, yes, my feelings are not your concern.)

Notre Dame is rolling with the nastiest, stingiest, dastardly defense this side of really nasty, stingy, and dastardly things. John Kemp is a man among other men (just a bigger, more manly version, I guess) and his steady play between the pipes has helped shape a unit that has cracked only once this year. Yale, eschewing steadiness and instead preferring exponential growth, is looking to capitalize on its surprising run to the Ivy League title last weekend and throw the entire postseason bracket into chaos.

Which, of course, would be par for the course in this college lacrosse season. ESPNU and ESPN3 have your back for this one.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. Who wants to play punch-for-punch?

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's Picto-riffic Preview

If Johns Hopkins is finally going to get its hands on that coveted double-digit NCAA title that it so desperately wants, it's going to have to dispatch a scrappy Stony Brook team that will either give the Jays a hard time or crumble like a delicious dessert.

(Be right back. Going to eat some dessert.)

Johns Hopkins has the look of a strong competitor for Memorial Monday, assuming that it can avoid some of the offensive blind spots that it has experienced throughout the year. With Chris Boland back in the lineup and no indications that he won't be able to contribute, the Jays' attack unit is as dangerous as any in the country. With additional contributions from its midfield, this could be the happiest lacrosse team dancing under a rainbow of victory in a few weeks. (Purple prose-y enough for you? Terrific.)

Stony Brook, contrastingly, is just looking to try and get a deathblow in before they exit stage death. ESPNU and ESPN3 will show you all the gory details.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. You look pretty sharp in your pajamas and unwashed hair. Don't let society tell you any different.

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's Picto-riffic Preview

Yesterday was pretty crazy, right? (I actually have no idea. I wrote this post on Friday afternoon. The magic of blogging: Revealed!)

Day two of the NCAA lacrosse tournament first round starts with a monster: Virginia, the reigning national champion and holder of five NCAA titles, hosts Princeton, one of the seminal programs of the 1990's and 2000's as well as the holder of six NCAA titles. In any other year this would be a "Well, duh!" national championship game, but in 2012 where the world spins sideways and lacrosse was thrown off its linear course, it's just another stop on the way to Foxborough at the end of May.

ESPN and ESPN3 will give you more than amateur video of the proceedings taking place in Charlottesville today, so point the hammer at the television and make the magic happen.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. Your opinion counts! (Kind of.)

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's Picto-riffic Preview

@SexyTimeLaxCoach T is ruining lacrosse again by playing too fast. MT "2012 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament : Denver at UNC sbn.to/INqGxU "

— Trevor Tierney (@trevor_tierney) May 11, 2025

Bill Tierney just can't win. (Neither can I apparently. Let them horses run, baby!)

We're kind of splitting hairs between Colgate-Massachusetts, Princeton-Virginia, and Denver-North Carolina as the weekend's most exciting offensive showcases and in the end it doesn't really matter which you notarize with your Internet fist as the most exciting. All I know is that the Pioneers and Tar Heels are brutally equipped to make Steven Rastivo and Ryan LaPlante wish they hadn't chosen the stick with the big ol' bag on the end as their favorite one of the bunch.

All I have to say is this: PEW! PEW! LACROSSE GUNS! ESPNU and ESPN3 have the broadcast.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. Make me proud out there, kiddo.

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's` Picto-riffic Preview

Have you ever seen a murder? No? Well, today's your lucky day, friend! (Metaphorically, of course. Murder is bad. You shouldn't commit it or become an accomplice to one by gawking at them. It's against the social compact or something. I don't know; I'm not a very good lawyer.)

The benefit of drawing the NCAA Tournament's one-seed is that you can idle the engine, work out the kinks, and get ready for the road ahead without, ideally, having to till the fields with only a spoon and a staunch work ethic. Canisius isn't a total pushover (they did crush Siena's soul last weekend, and the Saints were pretty decent this season), but Loyola is clearly running in a clear lane while the Griffins are asked to move through a course littered with alligators, land mines, and a dwarf with a nine-millimeter.

So, yeah. It ain't easy being Canisius today. ESPNU and ESPN3 have the rights to show you things on television and your computing machine.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. Remember: Only the strong survive. (Unless the strong are in a reading competition. Then they're screwed.)

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's Picto-riffic Preview

The NCAA Tournament rolls on! What a great day to be alive! (Well, that and you haven't been shot by an alien laser deathray, which makes existence pretty sweet on a day such as this.)

As soon as the brackets were announced last Sunday night, I immediately circled in a child's blood this Colgate-Massachusetts game as a must-watch. Peter Baum and Will Manny, operating on the same field at the same time, is arguably the most exciting facet of the entire first round. These two guys sit atop the world in offensive production and watching them go possession-for-possession may be the highlight of the tournament.

Minutemen partisans -- thanks to the wonder of abrasive Internet technology -- were none too pleased about Massachusetts'seed in the playoffs and may send angry letters littered with hand-drawn faces with "X's" for eyes to the NCAA if the Raiders drop Amherst's finest today. Colgate is also attempting to show the nation what it has, and the Minutemen will give them a solid test. (Without, hopefully, evidence of federal crimes involving death threats issued through the United States post should things go south.)

ESPNU and ESPN3 have you covered with the, well, coverage.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. The Internet thanks you for visiting. Come back soon!

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's Picto-riffic Preview

You guys! The 2011 NCAA men's college lacrosse tournament totally starts today! It's a great day to be an American!

In a year where bonkers has become the unstable baseline for all games played, this year's first round of the NCAA Tournament may provide the kind of "What the. . . .!" usually reserved for the college basketball tournament. It all gets started with Syracuse heading to Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, to face third-seeded Duke. ESPN -- the flagship of Deathstar Bristol -- has the broadcast.

Syracuse's recent surge in play has turned some heads -- not in the freaky "You're probably possessed, turd" kind of way -- lately and with the Devils having had a little bit of a layoff since their last game, the game may or may not play-out similar to the team's regular season matchup at MetLife Stadium at the A City Classic.

Here's how the game shakes out on the Fun Factor scale:

This is your open thread for the game. Make me proud out there, kiddo.

HELPFUL RESOURCES
College Crosse's Dorky Preview
College Crosse's Picto-riffic Preview

Eds. Note: From Harrison. Direct your ire toward him, not my inbox.

The bracket is set.

Some teams made it, while most teams are on the outside looking in. What is uncertain at this point is who is going to win the magical hardware on Memorial Monday. Unlike most years with a couple really dominant teams serving as the favorites, more than ever this season the tournament is wide open. Let's take a look at the field and separate those contenders from the pretenders once again as to who can win the title.

Contenders

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